Model railroad track construction



Oct. 29, 1957 R. E. HIRTENSTEIN MODEL RAILROAD TRACK CONSTRUCTION FiledAug. 12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lo 3 Fig.2, FWV W W V7 4- :n :2 :2

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MODEL RAILROAD TRACK CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2IN VEN TOR. RObERTE.HIRTEJ($TEIN in Figs. 1 and 4.

United States Patent MODEL RAILROAD TRACK CONSTRUCTION Robert E.Hirtenstein, Chicago, Ill.

Application August 12, 1954, Serial No. 44?,485

3 Claims. (Cl. 238-40) This invention relates to improvements insectional track constructions for toy trains and model railroads, andparticularly to improvements in the form and construction of the tracksections and of the components of such tracks, whereby track sectionscan be more readily assembled or built by the user and whereby the tiespacing may be varied as desired, especially in the case of longstraight runs and various curves.

The main objects of this invention are to provide a realistic lookingtoy train track section consisting of a plurality of track ties, and twoor more rails firmly attached to the ties in such a manner as tosimulate conventional railroad tracks; to provide an improved railstructure of such form as to make possible the joining of the ties tothe rails, at any place along the length thereof, by a simple andinexpensive procedure; to provide an improved means of attaching theties to the rails so that once attached a predetermined fixed distancemay be maintained between the ties without the need of any particularroadbed formation; and to provide an improved model train track rail,rolled or otherwise formed of sheet metal or other electrical conductormaterial, in which the upper portion of the rail appears above the tiein the conventional inverted T section shape, and in which the securingmeans is entirely hidden from view within the tie.

Further objects are to provide an improved model train track tie, whichhas preformed transverse slots for receiving the rails, so as to spacethe rails at a predetermined width or gage; to provide an improved tracktie that can be made of a resilient electrical insulating material,which will absorb vibration and has a sound dampening efiect, so as tothus eliminate some of the objectionable noises commonly associated withthe operation of toy or model trains; to provide such a track tie thathas preformed rail-locating cleats on its upper surface that simulaterailroad tie plates; to provide an improved toy train track in which allrails are insulated from each other and can therefore be easily used forsignaling and special electric circuits without the necessity of specialroadbed formation; and to provide an improved and inexpensive,realistic, model train track which can be easily constructed by the userand with any desired spacing relation of the ties lengthwise of thetrack.

A specific embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view partly in section, showing an assembly ofthe improved track in two-rail form.

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of a two-railtie for use in constructing thetrack assembly shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal, sectional view of the same as taken on thelines 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of a portion of my improved trackconstruction showing a three-rail track assembly.

Fig. 5 is a side, elevational View of the track shown 2,811,315 PatentedOct. 29, 1957 Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view of the three-railtrack assembly as taken on the lines 66 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a side elevtional view of my improved rail member for thetrack assembly.

Fig. 8 is an end view of the rail shown in Fig. 7, the rail being madewith a flat top.

Fig. 9 is a similar view of the improved rail made with a conventionalround top surface.

Fig. 10 is a side elevational view of an improved tool or punch forassembling the rails with the ties.

Fig. 11 is a partially sectioned, elevational view, showing the methodby which the tool shown in Fig. 10 is used to secure a tie and railtogether, and

Fig. 12 is a perspective View illustrating the manner in which the toolis used to construct a tie and rail assembly.

As shown in the drawings, it will be seen that the improved trackconstruction consists of a series of ties 10', and plurality of runningrails 11, the running rails 11 being mounted on the tie 10 in parallelrelation with each other and the ties 10 being disposed transversely ofthe rails, and in spaced relation lengthwise thereof. The ties 10 areall of equal size and are individually secured to each of the severalrails so that an assembly of track section will be a self-sustaining,substantially rigid unit.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3 each tie member 10 is an inverted box-likeunit of elongated rectangular form having'a top wall and depending sideand end walls which are perpendicular to the top wall and of equalheight. Laterally spaced slots 12 are formed transversely in the topwall of each tie member and extend downwardly into each side wall asshown in Fig. 3 for the reception of depending flanges or legs of therail members 11, as will be hereafter described. The slots 12 are spacedapart according to the gage of track assembly and preferably the slotsare equidistant from the ends of the tie for the sake of uniformappearance in the track assembly. Preferably the ties 10 are molded fromrubber or other suitable plastic dielectric material, and as shown arelatively wide rib 13 is formed on the top surface of the tie on eachside of each slot 12, the ribs 13 extending transversely across the tieand providing a shallow upwardly opening rectangular channel betweenthem in which the base flanges of the rail may set, as shown in Figs. 1and 6. Thus the ribs 13 function as, and have the appearance of, theusual tie plates used in ordinary full size railroad trackconstructions, the ribs having a height, above the main tie surface,slightly less than the rail base flange thickness. Also, as indicated inFigs. 3 and 6, a downwardly extending transverse rib 14 may be providedon the under side of the top wall of the tie for additional strength,the rib or flange 14 extending from side wall to side wall of the tie asindicated in Fig. 4.

The rails 11 are rolled or otherwise formed from sheet metal, or othersuitable electrically conductive material, and are preferably made incontinuous lengths equivalent to the desired length of the trackassembly. As shown in Figs. 6 to 9 inclusive, each rail is formed to theusual inverted T shaped section, and includes a tread portion lit: atthe top on which the wheels of the train will ride, tie engaging baseflanges 11/) at the bottom which have a combined width of about twicethe Width of the tread portion, and a vertical intermediate connectingweb 110, so that in section the upper part of the rail will havesubstantially the appearance of the usual railway rail. As shown, thetread portion 11a of the rail is generally tubular, being formed by thecentral bend of the strip of metal from which the rail is formed, andwhen completed one side of the rail is the complement of the other toconstitute the vertical tread connecting web and tie engaging baseflanges 11b aforesaid,

The free edges of stock strip, however, are continued downwardly fromthe tie engaging flanges 11b in spaced, parallel relation as shown inFigs. 8 and 9, thus forming legs 15 projecting downwardly from thebottom side of the tie engaging flange portions of the rail, andextending parallel with the length thereof. The lateral spacing of thelegs 15 and the depth thereof is such that they will be snugly receivedin the tie slot 12. and projected well into the interior of the tie whenthe'tie engaging flanges of the rail are seated in the channel formedbetween the respective tie-plate ribs 13. The clamping lugs 16 whichsecure the ties and rails together are formed from the portions of thelegs 15 which project into the interior of the ties, as shown in Fig. 6.

The tubular passage 17 formed by the fold of the metal during theformation of the track tread serves as a passage into which a piece ofmetal wire can be inserted for connecting one length of rail to another,thus providing both mechanical and electrical connections betweensuccessive rails. If desired, the connecting wire can be clinched inplace in one rail after being inserted in the respective opening 17, sothat the wire connecting piece will be permanently attached and thus notliable to be lost.

In assembling the improved ties and rail sections, the rails 11 are setonto the ties 10 with the rail leg portions extending into therespective slots 12, and with the tie engaging rail flanges 11b firmlyseated in the channels between the ribs 13, as shown in Fig. 6, thesechannels being of the same width as the combined width of the flanges11b. The rails are then attached to the ties by bending portions 16 ofthe legs 15 laterally outward and against the inside surface of the topwall of the tie. These bent portions 16 of the legs 15 thus serve asclamping lugs which hold the rail firmly to the tie. The clamping lugs16 are preferably sheared out of the vertical legs 15 and, since theyare turned outwardly against the inner surface of the top of the tie,they are engageable with the side walls of the tie and thereby limit anypossible sliding movement of the tie lengthwise of the rail.

The fastening of the rails to the ties is accomplished by means of atool 19, shown in detail in Figs. 10 and 11, which tool comprises arectangular punch 20, slidably fitted in a rectangular guide sleeve 21,which is made with a width to fit snugly into the interior of aninverted tie, the tool sleeve 21 being provided with a transversechannel 22 formed to fit over the legs 15, which project into the tie,when the end of the tool is seated squarely against the inner surface ofthe top wall of the tie. As shown, the punch has a triangular spreadingpoint 23, which extends transversely across the end of the punch toengage between the legs 15, as shown in Fig. 11. Thus a sharp blow onthe upper end of the punch 20! will drive the spreading point 23 betweenthe legs 15 of the rail and through coaction with the side walls of thesleeve 21 cause the lugs 16 to be sheared or struck out of the legs 15and spread laterally to a clinched position flat against the innersurface of the top wall of the tie 16. This is preferably done while therail and the tie are supported in inverted position on an anvil 24 whichis provided with a suitable channel 25 to receive the rail, and supportthe tie engaging flanges 11b thereof by its shoulders 26 during theclinching or se curing operation.

Fig. 12 illustrates the manner in which the tie securing operation isordinarily carried out, namely, the rail 11 being in inverted positionwith the ties 10 set onto the legs 15, and in the desired spacedrelation lengthwise of the rail. This assembly is then set onto an anvilsuch as that shown in Fig. 11, and the punch is moved from tie to tiealong the rail, and in each position is given a sharp blow which shearsout the securing lugs 16 from the rail legs 15 and firmly clinches thelugs against the 4 inner surface of the tie. The finished assembly thenappears as shown in Figs. 4 and 6.

It will thus be seen that the ties can be secured to the rails with anydesired tie spacing and that the attachment when once made is permanent.it will also be seen that the mounting operation is so simple that itcan be accomplished by substantially anyone thereby making it possiblefor toyor rnodel railroad enthusiasts to quickly and easily constructtheir own track sections in accordance with their own specifications. itwill be understood, of course, that the rail may be rolled or formedinto curves and that the ties can be attached in a similar manner tothese curves as well as to a straight section of track.

The main advantages of this invention reside in simplicity of thecomponents from which the track assembly or sections are made, and inthe simple and fast means of attachment whereby track sections can beconstructed from standard components quickly and easily and without theneed for expensive tools or equipment. Still further advantages residein the fact that no special fastening means or insulating material isrequired to con struct the track section assemblies; and in the factthat the improved track assembly can be made at a much lower cost thanhas been heretofore experienced.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention is herein shownand described, it will be understood that details of the inventionshown, may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit ofthis invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a rail and crosstie construction for miniature railroad trackcomprising a hollow crosstie having a top wall and opposite dependingside walls, said top wall having a pair of laterally spaced transverseslots opening to the interior of the crosstie and extending downwardlyin each of said side walls, and a pair of rails each having a treadportion, a tie engaging base flange portion, a vertical web connectingsaid tread portion and said base flange portion, and a pair ofcontinuous vertically flat longitudinally extending leg membersprojecting downwardly from said base flange portion, said leg membersbeing disposed centrally between the margins of said base flange portionon the underside thereof in parallel side by side relation with eachother, and the base flange portion of each of said rails being seated onthe top wall of said tie with the said leg members extending verticallyinto a respective slot, the improvement which consists in forming insitu oppositely extending anchoring lugs sheared and struck outwardlyfrom said rail leg members between the side walls of said crosstie andsimultaneously clinching said lugs against the underside surface of saidcrosstie top wall to clamp the margins of the respective slots betweensaid lugs and the said base flange portion of the rail.

2. A rail and crosstie construction for miniature railroad trackscomprising a hollow crosstie formed of dielectric material and having atop wall and opposite depending side walls, said top Wall having a pairof laterally spaced transverse slots opening to the interior of thecrosstie and a shallow upwardly opening transverse channel in its uppersurface aligned with each slot, and a pair of rails each having a treadportion, a tie engaging base flange portion, a vertical web connectingsaid tread portion and said base flange portion, and a pair ofcontinuous vertically flat web-like leg members projecting downwardlyfrom said base flange portion, said leg members being disposed centrallybetween the margins of said base flange portion on the underside thereofin parallel side by side relation with each other, the base flangeportions of each of said rails being seated on the top wall of said tiewithin a respective channel and with the said leg members extendingvertically into a respective slot, said leg members having lugs shearedand struck bodily therefrom while in situ and turned oppositely awayfrom each other'between the side walls of said crosstie and engagedagainst the underside surface of said top wall to clamp the margins ofthe respective slot against the said base flange portion.

3. A rail and crosstie construction for miniature railroad trackcomprising a hollow crosstie of dielectric material and having a topwall and opposite depending side walls, said top wall having a pair oflaterally spaced transverse slots opening to the interior of thecrosstie and extending downwardly into each of said side walls, and apair of rails each having a tread portion, a tie engaging base flangeportion, a vertical Web connecting said tread portion and said baseflange portion, and a pair of continuous vertically flat longitudinallyextending web-like leg members projecting downwardly from said baseflange portion, said leg members being disposed centrally between themargins of said base flange portion on the underside thereof in parallelside by side relation with each other, the base flange portions of saidrails being seated on the top wall of said tie with the said leg membersextending vertically into a respective slot, and oppositely extendinganchoring lugs sheared while in situ from said leg members between theside Walls of said crosstie and pressed flat against the undersidesurface of said top wall to clamp the margins of the respective slotbetween said lugs and the said base flange portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,290,584 Gardner July 21, 1942 2,565,359 Dubilier Aug. 21, 19512,703,204 Miller Mar. 1, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 152,049 Germany Oct. 19,1902

